Wigan Athletic1-0
Manchester CityWigan Athletic were fighting to stay in the Premier League. Manchester City were recent champions. A stoppage-time header from Ben Watson separated them at Wembley and delivered the biggest trophy in Wigan's history.
Different pressures
Roberto Martínez's Wigan entered the final with their league survival unresolved. City, managed by Roberto Mancini, had won the Premier League a year earlier and were expected to make their greater resources and experience count. Wigan's route to Wembley had already been an achievement; beating City would take it to another level.
The match was not simply an exercise in Wigan defending their penalty area. They played with ambition, and Callum McManaman's attacking display repeatedly troubled City. As the contest stayed goalless, Wigan continued to look capable of producing a winning moment.
Watson settles it
City were reduced to ten men late in the game when Pablo Zabaleta received a second yellow card. With extra time approaching, Wigan won a corner. Shaun Maloney delivered it, and substitute Ben Watson met the ball with a header that flew past Joe Hart.
The goal arrived in stoppage time. City had virtually no opportunity to respond, and Wigan won 1–0. Watson, who had returned from a serious leg injury during the season, had supplied the finish that made an extraordinary afternoon complete.
Joy followed by relegation
Three days later, defeat at Arsenal confirmed Wigan's relegation from the Premier League. They became the first club to win the FA Cup and be relegated from the top flight in the same season, an unusual combination that made their campaign impossible to summarise as either success or failure.
The Wembley victory stands on its own. Wigan did not merely benefit from City having an off day: they competed with purpose, created problems and took their chance when it arrived. Watson's header remains the club's defining cup moment.